Kukla's Korner Hockey

Whitney is a a good player and a proud player, a player who was out-of-this-world when he first came to the Oilers in that Lubo Visnovsky trade before he wrecked his ankle stepping in a rut in the Rexall Place ice just after Christmas in 2010, isn’t playing well. He’s way better than he’s looking through the first eight games of this season where 48 games are sardined into 98 days.

I like Whitney, and not just because he’s a good quote, always an excellent thing for a scribe. I like Whit’s wit, I like his ability to normally get the puck up ice on the tape with a crisp pass, I like it that he’s had the ability to play big minutes, and he’s always worked the point on the powerplay. Not the first unit, now, but the second. But, he’s having trouble and this is something the Oilers’ defence, which isn’t the best in the league, can’t have.

Whitney should be a go-to guy on the Oilers’ blueline but looks like Tom Poti out there right now and you know how it was for the quiet, lanky, puck-moving but not overly physical Poti, when he was an Oiler.